hey guys... I'm in trouble... I'm on a 10 day Canada trip, in Prince Rupert BC. This morning when I went out to start my 09 Nomad, it started up as usual, ran for a couple of minutes at idle, but then as I started to pull away, it died... everything died... all electrical out... we looked at all the system fuses and they were ok... then we pulled the Main fuse and it was fried... I put the spare 30 amp fuse in, it started up, all appeared to be ok, then rode it for about 15 min and every thing died again... the main fuse had blown again, we replaced it, turned the bike on, all appeared to be normal until I started it, the main fuse immediately blew again...
I have removed all accessory wires, and have checked every wire and harness I can get to and can find no problem...
does anyone have any ideas?? is this a regulator problem??
I'm 2000 miles from home, there is no motor cycle repair shop in this town and I'm at my wits end...
thanks for your help!! rick
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Last edited by silverspurs; 12-02-2012 at 05:13 PM.
I am retired Navy electrician - not a motorcycle mechanic... so for what it is worth - there are a few items that would draw that kind of current.
I would start by checkng the battery leads and the ground screw on the frame forward of the battery. If they are tight, suggest pulling the battery and inspect the leads around the frame from the positive side (red) and the frame. Inspect the leads to the starter and voltage regulator. There is tight clearance around the battery and you may have worn the insulation away. Electrical tape if you see any metal should get you home. Sounds a bit intermittent as you were able to drive one time for 15 minutes.
Generator - short circuit in the stator. The rotor has permanent magnets, so that is not a likely source. If there is a ground path from "wear" dust, oil, dirt etc you could be getting a short to ground drawing that type of current. In either case, it is not a fast repair as you need to pull the right engine cover.
Voltage regulator - this is a go or no-go situation either they work or fail. Not sure if you can just unplug it and run off the battery to see if the fuse blows again. If it runs on the battery, and does not blow the fuse, you have found the problem. Obviously, not a long term solution as the battery will dischage.
Starter - with the new fuse, does the starter disengage? if the solenoid does not release, that could draw enough current to blow the fuse. If you are able to get it running, I might suggest holding the lead on the starter to get it running and then pulling it away once running. If it is hard starting, the brushes may be worn out and causing the short, but solenoid should release.
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I am retired Navy electrician - not a motorcycle mechanic... so for what it is worth - there are a few items that would draw that kind of current.
I would start by checkng the battery leads and the ground screw on the frame forward of the battery. If they are tight, suggest pulling the battery and inspect the leads around the frame from the positive side (red) and the frame. Inspect the leads to the starter and voltage regulator. There is tight clearance around the battery and you may have worn the insulation away. Electrical tape if you see any metal should get you home. Sounds a bit intermittent as you were able to drive one time for 15 minutes.
Generator - short circuit in the stator. The rotor has permanent magnets, so that is not a likely source. If there is a ground path from "wear" dust, oil, dirt etc you could be getting a short to ground drawing that type of current. In either case, it is not a fast repair as you need to pull the right engine cover.
Voltage regulator - this is a go or no-go situation either they work or fail. Not sure if you can just unplug it and run off the battery to see if the fuse blows again. If it runs on the battery, and does not blow the fuse, you have found the problem. Obviously, not a long term solution as the battery will dischage.
Starter - with the new fuse, does the starter disengage? if the solenoid does not release, that could draw enough current to blow the fuse. If you are able to get it running, I might suggest holding the lead on the starter to get it running and then pulling it away once running. If it is hard starting, the brushes may be worn out and causing the short, but solenoid should release.
I will check those things this morning... thanks!
the fact that it turns on with no problem, and doesn't blow the fuse until it starts up, leads me to suspect a problem with voltage regulation... but I'm no electrician... rick
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I will not be much help to you in locating your problem.
But I had the same thing happen on my 99 Nomad. It would run a while and then blow the main fuse. I was at a VROC rally at Eureka Springs for three days, trying to track down the short. I'm not a mechanic. A Kawasaki tech was there with the Kawasaki truck. He pulled the entire wiring harness out and checked it for a short. Replaced it, saying when I got it home to have the dealer call and he would cover the cost of the wiring harness if I have the dealer do the labor, since he was unable to find the problem. I never had a problem with it since. Evidently, something was shorting out and when it was moved, never grounded out again!!!!?????
I am retired Navy electrician - not a motorcycle mechanic... so for what it is worth - there are a few items that would draw that kind of current.
I would start by checkng the battery leads and the ground screw on the frame forward of the battery. If they are tight, suggest pulling the battery and inspect the leads around the frame from the positive side (red) and the frame. Inspect the leads to the starter and voltage regulator. There is tight clearance around the battery and you may have worn the insulation away. Electrical tape if you see any metal should get you home. Sounds a bit intermittent as you were able to drive one time for 15 minutes.
Generator - short circuit in the stator. The rotor has permanent magnets, so that is not a likely source. If there is a ground path from "wear" dust, oil, dirt etc you could be getting a short to ground drawing that type of current. In either case, it is not a fast repair as you need to pull the right engine cover.
Voltage regulator - this is a go or no-go situation either they work or fail. Not sure if you can just unplug it and run off the battery to see if the fuse blows again. If it runs on the battery, and does not blow the fuse, you have found the problem. Obviously, not a long term solution as the battery will dischage.
Starter - with the new fuse, does the starter disengage? if the solenoid does not release, that could draw enough current to blow the fuse. If you are able to get it running, I might suggest holding the lead on the starter to get it running and then pulling it away once running. If it is hard starting, the brushes may be worn out and causing the short, but solenoid should release.
Not to go off subject here, but damn Bob, what a great explanation. Although I an not retired navy, just pulled 1 tour as an AE (Aviation Electrician) and work as an electronics tech for a major semi-conductor mfg. I don't think I have ever quite heard it explained like you did. you really broke it down for silverspurs.Two thumbs up
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As an add, if both are unplugged and it no longer blows fuse, then try replugging one and then the other to see if the fuse blows. Then leave the one that blows the fuse unplugged, keep your electrical load down...no light bar, etc, and you can probably make it to a repair shop.
If you have access to a meter, I can tell you how to check the alternator output to verify.
thanks everyone for your responses... I've been unable to access internet for the past two days... anyway, on Thursday morning, I tried everything I could think of to try to find the short... the short had progressed from blowing the main fuse only when the bike was actually running, to blowing the main fuse after the ignition had been switched to the ON position for a few seconds... obviously a dead short somewhere... I was running out of time because the ferry was due the next day, I needed to get things moving, so I rented a uhaul and I'm on my way back home with the bike in the uhaul... I'll be there tomorrow... when I get home, I'll be tearing things down (something I couldn't do in Prince Rupert, it's the rain capitol of Canada) so I'll need all the help I can get when I get er' home... thanks again for your posts and I'll be back on here as soon as I get a chance to tear things down... rick
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Urgent help needed!!
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2009 Kawasaki Voyager
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